A year ago, in preparation for the debut of my graffiti-fighting initiative UNTAG, I spent the day with my entire city hall and field staff driving every block of the 13th District, counting tags on buildings, sidewalks, utility boxes and nearly every visible space. On a single day in July, we counted 20,763 tags; that would be the benchmark against which we would gauge our success. A week later, I gathered with community leaders, volunteers, Chief Bratton and Public Works Commissioner Cynthia Ruiz to vow that we would cut the amount of graffiti in CD13 in half within two years.
On Thursday, my staff and I went out into the field again, using the same counting methodology we used last time. Once the results are in and processed, we'll announce how far we've progressed towards our graffiti-reduction goal. My fingers are crossed. Stay tuned!